Asus 9800 GTX 512MB EN9800GTX
9800 GTX - a close up
Published: 2nd April 2008 | Source: Asus | Price: £223 |
Asus 9800 GTX - a close up
The 9800 GTX looks a little bit more of a "beast" than its earlier G92 counterparts. It does feature the rather excellent design shared by the 8800 GTS G92 , whereby the sink dips in a little where the fan is to protect the airflow in an SLI situation. This is a darn good idea by Nvidia, especially since the card is Triple or 3 way SLI ready.
A black PCB is used by Asus which always makes me happy and the sink is obviously the stock Nvidia affair with a rather attractive "EN9800GTX" sticker featuring a digital maiden.
As you can see, photos of the card sideways show the dip where air can flow into the fan. This should allow the GPU's that are usually cramped up next to each other in to SLI breathe a little more freely, which is always a good thing, as we had some problems with 3 Way Ultra SLI.
Asus have put a nice blue coloured logo on the side of the card, a must for those with case windows.
The Asus 9800 GTX has two 6PIN PCI-e power which will be a relief for those of you who don't have brand spanking new expensive PSU's but want to play with Nvidia's latest baby. Above you can also see the end of the card enclosed in its plastic casing. I'll have a closer look at the PCB below.
The logo is an add-on sticker but not an eyesore.
The 9800 GTX has two Dual-Link HDCP-enabled DVI ports and a TV-out. I was surprised not to find an HDMI port here or an included adaptor, a slight oversight on Asus' part perhaps, although most enthusiasts will have a DVI input of some description.
Two SLI connections round off the card with room for dual SLI bridges and of course, 3 Way SLI!
The Cooler
The cooler on the 9800 GTX barely makes a noise at idle, although there is a definite rush of air through the cooler that is audible outside of a case. Once fully loaded, the noise has a very slight pitch change but I'd be willing to take a bet that inside a case you'd hardly notice at all.
Idle temperatures sit at 51°C and the card loads up at a pretty cool 67°C (ambient 23.7°C), so the cooler does its job pretty well.
Taking off the plastic clothing of the 9800 GTX reveals a standard Nvidia style heatsink with a nice flat copper base, an aluminium surround for the memory and VRMs and aluminium fins for heat dissipation. You can see the fan draws air in from the side of the heatsink and blows it through the fins directly over the GPU core and out the back of the casing. Note all of the VRM's are covered by the heatsink too.
Most Recent Comments
Ahhh man gotta go work... no time to read.
Will take a look at lunch.
Will take a look at lunch.
Good review mate.
I'm not very impressed with the 98** series so far, but at least the card is reasonably priced and is a good buy for someone who doesn't currently own an 88** card.
I'm not very impressed with the 98** series so far, but at least the card is reasonably priced and is a good buy for someone who doesn't currently own an 88** card.
That's a good, well rounded review - much appreciated.
I won't be swapping my 8800GTX - but for for someone buying a card, well... is a much lower priced 8800gt better value?
How would anyone feel spending £210 on this (lowest I've seen), knowing the next gen chips (if they really are next gen) are just a few months away?
It looks quite a good card - but the timing of it's release seems a bit strange.
I won't be swapping my 8800GTX - but for for someone buying a card, well... is a much lower priced 8800gt better value?
How would anyone feel spending £210 on this (lowest I've seen), knowing the next gen chips (if they really are next gen) are just a few months away?
It looks quite a good card - but the timing of it's release seems a bit strange.
I'm in a bit of a situation.
My X2 died a death and it needs replacing. It cost £270.
I was going to upgrade to the GX2 and cough up the extra £120ish as the other reviews I have seen of the gx2 show it smoking crysis etc (they included youtube vids/screenshots to give an idea, mascaras @ xs iirc). That and a few other things sold me.
Now, I have my 88GT atm as backup but it is sold to my mate who is the slowest pc builder in the world so I can't keep it forever.
The 9800GTX is ~£220 so if I got that as a replacement I'd get £50 back.
I demand performance, high res, aa/af etc. I get very angry if my gpu doesn't perform well, conversely I don't like wasting money and the new gpu's are coming, which are probably just die shrinks but who knows...
Does the gx2 justify the extra £170 over the 98gtx? This review suggests no...
Have you just been too nice Matt? I need to read this at lunch or after work... Food for thought.
My X2 died a death and it needs replacing. It cost £270.
I was going to upgrade to the GX2 and cough up the extra £120ish as the other reviews I have seen of the gx2 show it smoking crysis etc (they included youtube vids/screenshots to give an idea, mascaras @ xs iirc). That and a few other things sold me.
Now, I have my 88GT atm as backup but it is sold to my mate who is the slowest pc builder in the world so I can't keep it forever.
The 9800GTX is ~£220 so if I got that as a replacement I'd get £50 back.
I demand performance, high res, aa/af etc. I get very angry if my gpu doesn't perform well, conversely I don't like wasting money and the new gpu's are coming, which are probably just die shrinks but who knows...
Does the gx2 justify the extra £170 over the 98gtx? This review suggests no...
Have you just been too nice Matt? I need to read this at lunch or after work... Food for thought.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by name='Jim'
Good review mate.
I'm not very impressed with the 98** series so far, but at least the card is reasonably priced and is a good buy for someone who doesn't currently own an 88** card. |
Nothing established as to the extra 6 pin power requirement ?
If I`m not buying for a new pc, I don`t think I`ll bother. Need to get out of this plateau of similar cards released ~£200.
9800GTX in SLI vS GX2 - that`d be interesting.
Thanks for the review Kemp.
should have been an 89xx
but all in all, a nice, well rounded card it seems
good review
but all in all, a nice, well rounded card it seems
good review
nice one, ace review. Got one on the way now
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by name='ionicle'
should have been an 89xx
|
It's really a shame, imho... but if it works, we'll see more of that "next-gen" stupidity and buying graphics cards will get even more complicated.
Man I remember back in the days where you either had a GeForce (if you were rich), a Riva TNT or a Voodoo 2...
very interesting review there Kempez, and I would agree for people with a 8800 series card, it isn't really worth the upgrade, but some someone looking at spending £200 odd on a new card, its def the way to go.
Yeah seems decent for the price.
Like how it beats tri sli ultras in bioshock.. Very strange with the max frame rates but like you say the averages stay at a decent level so it doesn't really matter.
Ahhh well lets see what new drivers do for it.
Nice review anyway Matt... I shall more than likely be buying this to replace my GT for a couple of months until maybe something actually new comes out.
Get it under water though and I reckon that there is potential for some rather high overclocks.
Like how it beats tri sli ultras in bioshock.. Very strange with the max frame rates but like you say the averages stay at a decent level so it doesn't really matter.
Ahhh well lets see what new drivers do for it.
Nice review anyway Matt... I shall more than likely be buying this to replace my GT for a couple of months until maybe something actually new comes out.
Get it under water though and I reckon that there is potential for some rather high overclocks.
Would have been nice to see max stable OC tested on games to see what impact it had...
Yup, the overclock-test is definitely missing! And it'd be very interesting to know how much that thing clocks, in contrast to the 8800GT or 8800GTS
This IS overclockd3d, after all :-)
This IS overclockd3d, after all :-)
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by name='Mr. Smith'
Would have been nice to see max stable OC tested on games to see what impact it had...
|
In all seriousness, I just didn't have time to do it
I haven't been nice to the card - it's just not a BAD card, just not next gen
Nice to see nvidia have decided to use decent stock coolers again, after the crappy 8800GT..
Shame it's nothing new though
Good review as always, Cheers!
Shame it's nothing new though
Good review as always, Cheers!
nice review as always
somehow I dont think I will get rid of my 88gt yet though as that does not seem to be worth it
somehow I dont think I will get rid of my 88gt yet though as that does not seem to be worth it
Fantastic review as usual Kemp. 
Not that good a card though.
Not that good a card though.
Something very weird is going on... Just been on crysis DX10 as in 'Very High' 1650x1050 with the 8800gt, 700/1750/975. FRAPS floated between 10-22fps, excluding cut scenes 15-22fps, WHICH WAS TOTALLY SMOOTH!? WTF
The x2 the other night gave me ~20fps, looked better but wasn't as smooth...
Looking at these review figures I'm at a loss... I don't know what to buy anymore! gts/gtx/gx2... So confused.
Edit: nepas - oops, forgot to say, this gt WAS mine, it's now my house mates but he's not using it atm, but will need it back in the next week or so!
The x2 the other night gave me ~20fps, looked better but wasn't as smooth...
Looking at these review figures I'm at a loss... I don't know what to buy anymore! gts/gtx/gx2... So confused.
Edit: nepas - oops, forgot to say, this gt WAS mine, it's now my house mates but he's not using it atm, but will need it back in the next week or so!
I would stick with your 8800gt back up card for now,the next gen cards are due in june-ish
Hmm I'm still within my 120 day trade in with EVGA, do I swap my 8800GTS directly for the 9800GTX or pay the extra for the GX2?
if you really wanna upgrade I would say gx2,because so far that looks as worthwhile as a 96gt......imo
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by name='nepas'
if you really wanna upgrade I would say gx2,because so far that looks as worthwhile as a 96gt......imo
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by name='Deshman'
Despite that it lingers around the 88gtx level?
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by name='Mr. Smith'
gx2 is much faster than the 88gtx!!!
|
Not bothered how worthwhile it would be as an upgrade if it's a performance upgrade for little or no money
CSS Valid
http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/artic...234801672s.jpg
Take a look here